Lauren Baker

Background

About Lauren Baker

Lauren Baker is Deputy Director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, an alliance of philanthropic foundations working to transform global food systems. A systems thinker, skilled facilitator and practical problem-solver, Lauren has worked in non-profit, government, academic, business, and philanthropic contexts. In leadership roles, Lauren supports diverse organizations and initiatives including the True Cost Accounting Accelerator, Transformational Investing in Food Systems, the Agroecology Coalition, the People's Food Institute, Agritecture, and Food Secure Canada to address global challenges related to climate, biodiversity, food security, and equity. Previously, Lauren led the Toronto Food Policy Council, a citizen advisory group embedded within the City of Toronto’s Public Health Division and was Founding Director of Sustain Ontario — the Alliance for Healthy Food and Farming. With a PhD in Environmental Studies focused on food systems and biodiversity/biotechnology debates in Mexico, Lauren has taught at the University of Toronto and at Toronto Metropolitan University. Lauren’s awards include Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowships for both her Master’s and PhD research, an IDRC EcoHealth award, a SSHRC Doctoral Award and Ontario Graduate Scholarship. She is a Sylff Fellow. Lauren is the author of numerous articles and publications, including Corn meets Maize: Food Movements and Markets in Mexico (2013), co-editor of True Cost Accounting for Food: Balancing the Scale (2021), and most recently Earth to Tables Legacies, Multimedia Food Conversations Across Generations and Cultures (2023).